Cazuo Matsumoto

Cazuo Matsumoto was ranked no.207 in the world in 2002. At 20 years old, in 2005, he was ranked no.213. He first entered the global top 100 in May 2012.^[4]

In 2007, he participated for the first time in the World Championship, in singles and doubles, being eliminated from the first round in both.^[5]

At the 2008 Olympic Games, he was an alternate athlete to participate in the team modality.^[6]

In 2009, Matsumoto became Latin American Championship champion in singles, defeating Hugo Hoyama in the final, in doubles playing alongside Hoyama, and in mixed doubles.^[7]

At the end of March 2013, Matsumoto obtained a historic victory over the Japanese Jun Mizutani, one of the ten best in the world, in the Team World Cup, where Brazil fell to Japan. In April 2013, Matsumoto, after becoming the first Latin American to win a tournament on the world circuit, rose to 45th in the world rankings, the highest position ever achieved by a table tennis player from the country at that time.^[8]

In July 2013, he was the No. 1 table tennis player in the Americas.^[9]

At the end of 2013, he qualified for the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, which would be held between the 9th and 12 January 2014, in Dubai.^[10]

In 2014, Matsumoto won the Latin American Table Tennis Cup.^[11]

Matsumoto achieved a great result at the 2015 World Table Tennis Championships, where, playing alongside Thiago Monteiro, he reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament, only being eliminated by the Korean duo, who finished with bronze. With this, they repeated the feat of Dagoberto Midosi and Ivan Severo, who, in 1954, also reached this stage in the World Championship held in Wembley, England.^[12][13] In singles, he reached the 2nd round at the 2013 World Table Tennis Championships, and in mixed doubles, he reached the 2nd round at the 2011 World Table Tennis Championships and 2013 World Table Tennis Championships.^[14]

Cazuo Matsumoto represented Brazil at the Rio Games in 2016 and then chose to dedicate himself to coaching, at Itaim Keiko/JJ Yamada and at his own gym, Match Point, alongside his wife and fellow Olympic athlete Jessica Yamada. Away from national competitions, he returned in September 2021 to compete in some tournaments.^[15]